IB Japanese A: Literature SL Grade Boundaries 2024-2025

Overall boundaries, every session on record

Minimum scaled mark, out of 100, for each grade in IB Japanese A: Literature SL. One row per session and timezone; May 2021 and 2022 and November 2021 and 2022 show the examination route.
Session	7	6	5	4	3	2	Gap 6 to 7
November 2025	75	65	53	43	30	15	10
November 2024	72	62	50	40	30	15	10

What do I need

IB Japanese A: Literature SL: the mark you need, paper by paper

Session

Grade

In November 2024 a 7 overall started at 72 out of 100 scaled marks. On each component:

Component	Out of	Minimum for a 7	As %
Internal assessment (oral)	40	34	85%
Paper 1	20	12	60%
Paper 2	30	24	80%

Component grades come straight from the IB document for that session. The overall grade is on a 100-mark scale built from the components with the weightings in the subject guide, so it is not computed here: a strong component carries a weaker one, and the table shows how much room each one leaves.

Options and variants

Overall boundaries of the options the IB lists separately for Japanese A: Literature SL (self-taught, pilot syllabus, regional or performance options).
Session	Option	7	6	5	4	3	2	Gap 6 to 7
May 2025	self-taught	81	66	52	37	30	15	15
May 2019	self-taught	83	71	58	45	31	17	12

The gap between a 6 and a 7

In Japanese A: Literature SL the 6 sits on average 10 marks below the 7 on the 100-mark scale. That is roughly one question answered fully instead of half-answered, or the marks lost to misread instructions across a whole paper.

Use the range, not the last session. A student scoring 75% or more on full mocks under exam conditions has a 7 in every session on record. A student at 72% has a 7 only on the hardest paper, and should plan for the 6 to 7 gap rather than assume it.

Sources

All 2 sessions were read from the grade boundaries document the IB issues to Diploma Programme coordinators after each session (one document per session; 2021 and 2022 have an examination-route and a non-examination-route document). The full dataset for every IB subject is on the grade boundaries overview, as CSV and JSON.

Independent work, not endorsed by the International Baccalaureate. Last checked 4 November 2026. Corrections: pietro@pietromeloni.com.

Frequently asked questions

What percentage do you need for a 7 in IB Japanese A: Literature SL?

75% of the scaled marks in November 2025. Over 2 sessions since November 2024 the 7 has started between 72% and 75%, 73.5% on average. There is no fixed figure: the IB sets the boundaries after each session, once the papers have been marked.

How many marks separate a 6 from a 7 in Japanese A: Literature SL?

Between 10 and 10 on the 100-mark scale, 10 on average. In November 2025 it was 10 marks. That is the size of one question answered fully instead of half-answered, which is why exam technique moves this grade more than new content.

Where do these numbers come from?

Every row on this page was read from the grade boundaries document the IB issues to Diploma Programme coordinators after each session, for all 2 sessions shown. The document lists, for every subject and level, the minimum raw mark for each grade on each component and the minimum scaled mark out of 100 for the overall grade.

IB Japanese A: Literature SL grade boundaries: what you need for a 7